Stocks emerged from the hole into which they’d dug themselves Wednesday, as utilities and real-estate demonstrated surprising strength.
The TSX Composite poked ahead 13.89 points to end Wednesday at 19,034.81.
The Canadian dollar dipped 0.18 cents at 72.76 cents U.S.
Utilities led the pack of gainers, with Fortis Inc. grabbing $1.56, or 3.1%, to $52.19, while Brookfield Infrastructure Partners units leaping $1.17, or 3.2%, to $37.62.
In real-estate, Northwest Healthcare Properties units picked up 37 cents, or 7.7%, to $5.15, while Storagevault tacked on 18 cents, or 4.3%, to $4.39.
Tech issues improved, with Celestica obtaining $1.15, or 3.5%, to $33.66, while Docebo rumbled $1.87, or 3.6%, to $53.65.
Energy went the opposite way, with Vermilion Energy down $1.16, or 6.2%, to $17.67, while International Petroleum shed 82 cents, or 6.5%, to $11.82.
Gold lost some luster, with Equinox Gold dumping 15 cents, or 2.8%, to $5.61, while Iamgold fell eight cents, or 2.7%, to $2.86.
Among materials, Lithium Americas was hammered $6.62, or 29.8%, to $15.57, while K92 Mining slumped 29 cents, or 5.2%, to $5.30.
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange remained in the minus column, 3.08 points to close at 533.18.
All but three of the 12 TSX subgroups were positive by the closing bell, with utilities climbing 1.8%, real-estate better 1.7%%, and information technology jumping 1.6%.
The three laggards were energy, plunging 4%, while gold slipped 0.5% and materials fell 0.4%.
ON WALLSTREET
The S&P 500 ticked up Wednesday as Treasury yields pulled back from multiyear highs following the release of much weaker-than-expected jobs data.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 125.85 points, to close Wednesday at 33,128.23.
The much-broader index improved 34.3 points to 4,263.75.
The NASDAQ index popped 176.54 points, or 1.4%, to 13,236.01.
Consumer discretionary was the best-performing sector, rising more than 1%. Tesla and Norwegian Cruise Lines led the sector gains, Tesla gaining 4.6%, and Norwegian adding 2.4%.
Energy was the S&P 500’s worst-performing sector Wednesday as crude prices fell. Devon Energy and Marathon Oil fell more than 6%, followed by Schlumberger N.V. and APA down 5.1%.
ADP said Wednesday 89,000 private payrolls were added last month, well below a Dow Jones forecast of 160,000 and fewer than an upwardly revised 180,000 payroll additions from August.
The ISM nonmanufacturing index came in at 53.6 for September, slightly below forecasts of 53.7. To be sure, that’s below the August reading of 54.5.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury climbed, lowering yields to 4.73% from Tuesday’s 4.80%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices retreated $4.48 to $84.75 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faded $2.60 to $1,839.90.